In the round-up: McLaren are five points away from third in the championship, but Lando Norris suspects their car is not among the four quickest at the moment.
What they say
McLaren are locked in the three-way battle for third place in the constructors’ championship with Racing Point, Renault and Ferrari. Just five points behind Racing Point going in to this weekend, Norris says their performance has been achieved despite having a slower car:
It’s the last few races where we can really make a big difference and get that extra position in the constructors if we can. But it’s not going to be easy at all.
I think Racing Point have probably been the quicker team throughout the whole season. I think that’s quite easy to admit. They’ve just had inconsistency with some of the drivers not being not allowed to do all the races and Nico [Hulkenberg] having to step in.
Even when we’ve had both of our drivers on full fitness for the whole season, they’re still ahead of us at the moment. So it’s tricky.
I don’t think we’re the third-best car or the fourth-best car, I think we’re a little bit behind. Where we can do a better job and where we’ve done a better job throughout the season is just the consistency and not making the mistakes of some of the other drivers and teams have made.
Our objective is to extract everything out the car because I think even when we do extract everything out of the car, maybe we’re just missing a little bit to be able to be confidently ahead of the rest of the midfield pack. But we’ll do our best and we’ll fight for it to the very last lap of Abu Dhabi.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
|@DanielRicciardo on the track invasion during second practice:
"It looked quite cute! Fortunately it didn't get too close to me…" #F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/g7v4oSBmhj
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) November 27, 2020
Day 1 #Fit4F1 recap#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/QhAQmE2f5L
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) November 27, 2020
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Ilott keeps title hopes alive with fifth pole of the season in Sakhir qualifying (Formula 2)
"Drugovich and Ticktum fired up to second and third but neither of them could touch Ilott, who was nearly four tenths faster. The Briton was the first car back in the pits, satisfied with his work in the first stint."
Grosjean among contenders for Foyt IndyCar seat (Racer)
"Grosjean is being considered for a seat in one of the four-time Indy 500 winner’s Chevy-powered Dallara DW12s, as ongoing talks have taken place with the 34-year-old Frenchman to join countryman Sebastien Bourdais and Canada’s Dalton Kellett, who is tipped to return in 2021."
Practice in the desert (Alfa Romeo)
Robert Kubica: "It’s been quite a while since the last time I was in the car, as in the meantime I have been driving in DTM, so it was crucial to get the feeling for the car and the confidence straight away. It went well, I got back in the way of driving these cars quickly and I felt quite at ease. It was a good session overall, we completed the full programme so we are happy with how the day went. "
F1: Statement on COVID testing (FIA)
"The FIA and Formula 1 can today confirm that between Friday 20th November and Thursday 26th November, 4887 tests for COVID-19 have been performed on drivers, teams and personnel. Of these, 9 people tested positive, in addition to the previously announced positive case for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley. "
Mercedes F1 team achieves FIA three-star environmental accreditation (Mercedes)
"In March 2020, Mercedes-Benz announced a sustainable business strategy for motorsport activities and ambitious steps towards carbon neutrality. We set the target of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint by the end of 2020 and cutting CO2 emissions by 50% by 2022, compared to the team’s 2018 baseline. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team is on course to achieve the projected reduction for 2020 through the transition to renewably sourced energy and gold-standard carbon offsetting."
"With a rulebook thinner than a slice of Lando Norris’ favourite pizza, it was a case of pretty much anything goes when Can-Am launched in 1966. The only real boundaries were those of your imagination and that was music to the ears of a bright, young engineer like Bruce. The series gave birth to some of the most spectacular racing machines ever seen and, in some cases, they were faster than their Formula 1 counterparts."
Bahrain Grand Prix: Practice (AlphaTauri)
"FP1 was more about understanding the 2021 tyres over long runs, and also to sign off and understand some of the new aerodynamic components, so there was less setup work carried out in that session. We reviewed the data and made some changes to the car, and with the track being rear limited, along with an aggressive tyre choice, rear degradation was high, so we needed to address that going into FP2. We started FP2 with a short-run compare with the 2020 vs 2021 tyre, then went on with our normal programme."
Volunteers and Officials: F1 drivers pay tribute to motor sport’s unsung heroes (FIA)
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Comment of the day
After teams were given the opportunity to test 2021 tyres during first and second practice, BaKano notes that Mercedes’ busy Friday running shows how dedicated they are to improving and seeking an advantage:
One of the topics mentioned before this grand prix was that teams would start working on the 2021 season. That explains why Mercedes, with nothing more to gain, used two sets of the 2021 tyre and ran a lot of laps on it.
Tyres are “all the rage” in F1 in the latest times, so start building on that. One of the reasons why even though it’s boring, Mercedes [dominance] is justified, is they keep on working to continue on top, regardless of the advantage they have over the others.
BaKano
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dan
28th November 2020, 2:04
Lando talks himself up way too much, Lewis went vs Alonso. He easts Sainz for breakfast. Wish George Russel was in his seat. Hulkenberg made Sainz look meh…
Rott
28th November 2020, 4:49
Sainz is better. So doesn’t matter.
Dave
29th November 2020, 6:33
Both are close to each other, so it’s going to be a close one.
Why is my radar flashing red?
Dave
28th November 2020, 9:55
But at least McLaren are stronger than 2014-2018.
Balue (@balue)
28th November 2020, 20:16
At least they have good operation like Norris says. Even that was seriously lacking before.
Daniel
28th November 2020, 10:10
I would be surprised if the Renault was much better than the Mclaren.
If Renault had kept Hulkenberg they’d likely have a solid 3rd in the constructors now.
bosyber (@bosyber)
28th November 2020, 11:52
It might be the highs of the Renault are quite a bit better Daniel, but perhaps the lows (and DNF’s?) have been a bit more than McLaren – as Norris said, they had a good consistent season, which certainly Renault didn’t, just as RacingPoint didn’t. One could argue McLaren has been the better on track competitor, while the others have done better in their factories/over the winter, mostly.
Balue (@balue)
28th November 2020, 20:33
It’s COTD to say that Merceds is to be praised for running early development for next year, when they are obviously the only one who can take the time having already sown up both championships?